Ridiculous Randomness
by dbzespio
Summary: Leaf and friends encounter Willow and his friends at the Festival of the Aura Guardian. Rylte meets Blathers! Collab w/ ScotSniper.
1. Beware the Heavy Ball

"Wow, so there it is!" Leaf smiled in appreciation as Cameran Palace finally came into view. The medieval castle was absolutely amazing. She could hardly believe she hadn't come here to visit sooner.

"Toby never see Palace before!" said teenage male declared proudly as he walked alongside his friends. Having grown up in the forest nearly all his life, he wasn't accustomed to such sights; but then again, Leaf hadn't seen the place either, and she actually lived in Kanto.

"It's wonderful," Riley agreed. Even Knuckles the Lucario had to grunt in approval.

"So…" After a few minutes of staring at the place, Toby quickly grew bored, "Why Leaf want to come here?"

"Oh, come on, Toby," Leaf rolled her eyes, "There's a huge festival going on today! There's going to be a battle tournament and everything! Now, who _wouldn't_ want to get in on that?"

"Right… Toby will win lots of money today for more Pokéballs!" Riley's cousin's eyes positively shined as he thought of all the interesting Pokémon he'd be able to find around here.

"Um…" Riley looked around uneasily at all of the other festival goers surrounding them as they continued on their way to the castle, "Were we supposed to dress up for this festival?"

Leaf looked around and was a bit startled to see everyone dressed up in bad Renaissance outfits, "Ugh… No way… You've got to be kidding me… Well, there's no way I'm going to dress up like that! No thank you!"

* * *

><p>Three teenagers wandered down an old path, two were huddled over a map trying to figure out where they were while the third just sighed.<p>

"So… what's this place like Willow?" A blond haired boy asked as he fixed his balaclava and tore away from the map, leaving it in the hands of his female companion.

Willow shrugged indifferently. "Little point of me describing it to you if it's right in front of you…"

The final member of the group, a girl named Mallori looked up from the map and gasped in awe at the sight of the Cameran Palace. "Sheesh! They don't make Castles like that anymore…"

"They don't make castles period." Willow yawned; he was growing tired of teaching them. They had been rookie trainers when Willow had met them; under his tutelage they had now become respectable trainers in their own right, but still quite inexperienced and still grasping the realities of the world they lived in. "You guys are so easily amused."

"You're boring Low!" Mallori hissed. "And it was your idea to come here!"

"I've been here a few times. I'm just sorta used to it." Willow waved her off. "Besides we're here for the tournament remember?"

The blond haired boy, Jean placed his hands on his hips. "What do we win?"

Willow shrugged. "You become the 'Aura Guardian' for the night…"

"Enough chat!" Mallori squealed enthusiastically. "I can't wait to sleep in a proper bed again! No more lumpy ground~!"

For the past week the trio had been camping out in the wild, Mallori was quite touchy about sleeping nearby her companions and friends. There was the occasional awkward moment between them, but eventually they just laughed it off.

As Mallori shot down the path, Jean and Willow looked on and shrugged to each other. "Girls."

Willow and Jean eventually caught up with Mallori who was looking around in disgust at all the ridiculous clothing people were wearing for the festival.

Willow groaned. "Guys… welcome to the medieval equivalent of a Sci-fi con."

Mallori cringed at the sight of some people's clothing. "Dressing up isn't compulsory… is it?"

One of Willow's pokeballs burst open revealing a bipedal blue and black fox, a Riolu called Rylte. Rylte was Willow's starter Pokemon and had the bizarre ability to communicate telepathically with humans. Unfortunately for Willow this wasn't a good thing as Rylte spent his time chatting about absurd and random topics.

'_WHOAA Look at the size of that mushroom!'_ Rylte exclaimed pointing at a nearby fence.

Willow suddenly smiled as he stared into the crowds of people in the streets. Jean and Mallori noticed this and shot him quizzical looks.

"What you smiling at Low?" Jean questioned following Willow's gaze.

"I sense an old friend of mine…" Willow explained. "I wonder what he's doing here…"

Mallori raised an eyebrow "Who?"

Willow raised a hand and pointed at three figures that emerged from the crowds. "Riley."

* * *

><p>Leaf, Riley and Toby paused when they noticed a boy in a grey jacket pointing at them. Knuckles who wasn't paying attention to his surroundings bumped into the back of his trainer and fell back. As Knuckles began to rise to his feet, he found himself face to face with his pre-evolutionary form.<p>

The Riolu pointed at him and laughed. _'Youuu fell ovar~!'_

Knuckles stared at the Riolu in confusion. _'What?'_

The Riolu shrugged. _'Got any napkinz?'_

Knuckles was now even more confused. _'Napkins?'_

_'You know pieces of cloth for dining tables? I need them so I can forge the sword of Everland and defeat the evil Zurk Bedwetter_.'

Knuckles shook his head awkwardly. '_No… I don't have any napkins little one…'_

'_Little!'_ The Riolu gasped. _'I'm older than you! And more dashingly beautiful...'_

Knuckles backed away from the Riolu. _'The impossible has happened… I have found someone worse than Blathers…'_

As the two Pokemon chatted away (or at least it appeared that way to the humans nearby) Leaf stared at the group of teenagers approaching them.

She leaned over to Riley. "Who are these people?"

Riley grinned. "An old friend of mine."

By this time Willow and his friends were close to him. Willow smiled and offered his hand. "Riley! It's good to see you again."

Riley shook it. "Good to see you too Willow! Still practicing to control your Aura?"

"Willow?" Leaf stared at the brown haired boy. "You're name's Willow?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah that's right?"

Leaf grinned. "My sister's called Willow too!"

Willow's face fell and his two companions burst into laughter, Riley even gave a light chuckle.

'_OH NOEZ! Did I just miss my BFF getting pwned again?'_ Rylte giggled and hopped onto Willow's shoulder.

"Aww!" Leaf exclaimed, completely unaware of the fact that nearly everyone was still laughing over Willow's shared name with her little sister, "Is that your Riolu? He's _so _cute!"

"Yeah, cute now. Demon later," Willow sighed.

'_RARRRR!_' Rylte roared for emphasis.

"Rarrr!" Toby mimicked the blue Pokémon and laughed.

"Uh, yeah? So… who are these people exactly?" Jean asked, eyeing Toby carefully.

Willow rolled his eyes, "He's Riley, I'm Willow, she's Mallori…" Willow pointed at each person in turn, "…And you're Jean," he finished with a slight smirk, "You still remember your own name, right?"

Before Jean could let out his angry protest, Riley broke in, "And right here, is my friend, Leaf, and my cousin, Toby."

"Your cousin?" Willow looked at Toby with an eyebrow raised, "Since when did you have a cousin?"

"It's a long story…"

"So, does your Riolu have a nickname?" Leaf asked Willow.

'_Captain America!' _Rylte declared with a proud pose.

"No, his name is Rylte…" Willow frowned.

"That's so cute!" Leaf gushed, "Can I hold him? Please?"

'_Noooooooo! Keep her away from me; she has cooties!' _Rylte screamed.

Before Leaf could think of a response, she felt Knuckles tugging on her arm, "Huh? What's wrong?"

As a series of growls and grunts were elicited from her Lucario, Leaf's eyes widened with horror, "Oh no! Not another one of them!"

"Wait, what? What did he say?" Mallori asked Rylte curiously.

'_DAH EVIL CLOWNS HAVE COME TO EAT HER_!' Rylte shrieked.

"So… what did he really say?" Jean rolled his eyes.

"Actually, he's not that far off," Leaf explained before promptly hiding behind Riley.

As if on cue, a purple-clad jester danced his way over to them, "Hello, hello, hello!" he sang happily, juggling a few Pokéballs, "Welcome to the-! Oh dear me! You people seem to have forgotten the tradition of the Festival of the Aura Guardian!"

"That's not a clown," Jean said loudly, but was largely ignored for the time being.

'_Horrible!' _Rylte screeched, _'It's a fairy! We're all doooooomed!'_

The jester continued without missing a beat, "Why! You people look like you've been dropped off by a time machine! Come with me at once, and I'll show you where you can find some nice and normal clothes so that you can all fit in right at home here today!"

"Yeeah, sure, mate, we'll get right on that," Willow said sarcastically.

"Clown has bells on hat… Very stupid," Toby noted.

"Ah! Blasphemy! You _dare _mock my outfit!" the jester suddenly abandoned his lighthearted tone and looked dangerous.

"Man look stupid," Toby repeated, having no idea what "blasphemy" even meant.

Willow clapped, "Dang, Riley, your cousin is great!"

'_His cousin is toast!' _Rylte pointed at the jester accusingly.

"You will pay for that comment with your life!" the jester screeched at Toby, lunging to attack. However, one of the Pokéballs (which he had been juggling all this time) knocked him on the head when he broke position. Apparently, this was enough to knock him unconscious because the jester then slumped to the ground and fainted.

"Wow… was that a Heavy Ball?" was all Willow said.

No one answered at first. It wasn't until the Pokéball rolled over to Knuckles' feet, and he had inspected it before they learned the truth. It was indeed a Heavy Ball.

"Whoa… I am _never _going to use one of those…" Mallori looked horrified.

"Phew… That was close," Leaf stepped away from her hiding place behind Riley with a sigh of relief, "I'm _so _glad he didn't notice me…"

"Leaf has an unpleasant… history with clowns…" Riley explained with a slight shrug.

"But it wasn't a clown!" Jean insisted again.

'_Duuuuh!' _Rylte cried out loudly, '_Everybody knows clown equals jester in medieval world speak! It's common mathematical knowledge that ALL fools know. Even the smart ones!'_

"It's close enough!" Leaf exclaimed, "If I've learned anything on my journey traveling across Sinnoh, it's that clowns are NOT to be taken lightly! And I'm not taking any chances when it comes to jesters either!"

"Yeah… so… the Tournament… Anybody up for it?" Willow shrugged.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Mallori squealed, all confusion of the past few minutes thrown aside for now.

* * *

><p>Notes: If you want to see what the characters look like, check out the link to their pictures on my profile. It's the only link on there, so I'm certain you'll be able to find it. :) There are a lot of original characters in this story, so ScotSniper took the time to make that picture and give everyone an idea as to what these people look like.<p> 


	2. Volte vs Grovyle

A screen flickered to life in a dark room. The light revealed a crouching figure on a Starmie.

The crouched figure smirked. "Ah, Pokemon Hunter J… I've heard so much about you…"

The infamous Pokemon hunter face appeared on the screen. She held an emotionless expression and nodded. "I have heard much about you also… Saque Sird… Terrorist."

Sird just giggled. "Oh please… I've committed greater crimes than terrorism… just Sird will do."

J quickly grew impatient. "Any reason why you contacted me? I'm assuming it isn't for pointless banter."

Sird smirked. "Of course not. I have a job for you."

"A job?"

Sird smiled menacingly. "Tell me… what do you know about the Pokémon Mew?"

* * *

><p>'<em>Ya want some popcorn?<em>' Rylte asked no one in particular as he loudly munched away.

"What? _Where _did you get popcorn?" Jean whipped around, tearing away from the banister he had been passively leaning on and staring off into space moments ago, "I didn't see any concession stand anywhere!"

'_I found it,' _Rylte shrugged casually in response.

"WELCOME ONE AND ALL! THE TOURNAMENT IS READY TO BEGIN! ARE YOU READY?" a loud voice boomed as it broke through all of the chattering.

Leaf glanced away from her friends' conversations, old and new alike, to face the center of the ring. She could hardly hold back a gasp, "What? Is that… the Pokéstalker?"

"Pokéstalker?" Mallori looked alarmed.

"You mean there's a dude who _stalks _Pokémon? Quick! Hide Rylte!" Jean cried.

"Chill out, mate!" Willow looked annoyed, "Sure, the name's weird, but the bloke just gives advice on Gym battles! You've seen him before, don't you remember?"

"Oh… right… the sunglasses man…" Mallori recalled after she paused to take a good look at him.

"AND NOW, A WORD FROM QUEEN ILENE!" Pokéstalker cried.

Above him, upon a regal balcony, an elegant, blonde woman spread her arms grandly, "Thank you all for coming! Today we honor Sir Aaron! It is in his memory that we hold this Festival! Everyone! Please do your best in the Tournament! I wish you all the best of luck today!" She delivered an impressive speech, and she didn't even need a microphone like the Pokéstalker did.

'_Whoa! Look! It's Princess Zelda!'_ Rylte clapped appreciatively, dropping his remaining popcorn all over the place in the process.

"And there you have it!" the Pokéstalker grinned, "Now, let's get this Tournament started! First up! Yoshi and… Miles!"

Instead of the green dinosaur and yellow, two-tailed, mutant fox that everyone had expected, two average looking young trainers made their way to the arena.

"Now remember, folks! These are only one on one battles, so the Trainers will have to pin all their hopes on one Pokémon and hope for the best!" the Pokéstalker explained, "And now, let the battle BEEEEGINNNN!"

"Mmm! Popcorn is good!" Toby nodded as he ate the popcorn that had fallen onto his shoulder. Clearly, watching Pokémon battles wasn't his idea of a good time.

"You're not the only one who likes it…" Mallori indicated the Pidgey that were flocking this way, clearly hungry.

'_Aaah! Quick! Eat up all the popcorn before they come and burn up all of the food and save the rum!' _Rylte shrieked.

The Pidgey wasted no time swooping down and hungrily attacking all of the fallen popcorn!

"This _all _your fault, Rylte!" Willow cursed, sending out a stream of expletives as the number of frantic and hunger-crazed Pidgey increased by the second.

"No need to get upset," Riley said smoothly, attempting to shoo the Pidgey away by waving his hat at them, "They're only hungry…"

"No _need _to get upset?" Willow roared, "We're going to get _covered_ in Pidgey sh-!"

"Haha! Hey look! The people on my right here are getting assaulted by Pidgey! That's not something you see every day, folks!" the Pokéstalker paused in his commentary of the ongoing battle to acknowledge their plight.

"You think this is _funny_?" Willow whirled around to face the Pokéstalker. He had half a mind to pull out his Aura pistol right now!

Luckily, as soon as the Pidgey had eaten every last bit of popcorn, they flew off, probably to go assault more helpless pieces of food.

'_Fare thee well, my dear pupils!' _Rylte waved elegantly at the horde of retreating Pidgey.

"Man, and here I thought Pidgey were cute…" Mallori looked horrified. She had only just managed to get away from them in time, "Now I know better…"

"Poor Knuckles…" Leaf went over to pat him comfortingly. The poor Lucario had been covered in fallen popcorn; therefore, the Pidgey had pecked him like mad!

Rylte giggled. _'Dah Pidgeys liekz Lucario!'_

Knuckles snarled at his Pre-evolution, the only thing that stopped him from attacking the little demon was the powerful aura he felt emanating from the small Pokemon's body. Rylte was a lot stronger than he let on.

"Look! Toby have new bird!" Toby said happily, holding out his Pokéball holding his newest capture.

"Dude! You're stupid! That thing's just going to eat your other Pokémon alive!" Jean exclaimed, pointing at Knuckles for emphasis, "Just look at that Lucario! !"

"AAAAAANNNND! NEXT UP WE HAAAVVVEE…! !" the Pokéstalker screamed, holding out the suspense as long as he could muster. Apparently, the battle between Miles and Yoshi was now over, "Willow and Toby! Come on down!"

The crowd hooted and cheered as Willow casually jumped down from the stands, still looking rather angry. He gave the Pokéstalker a vicious glare as he took his position.

Toby entered the arena from the correct opening and smiled at Willow.

Willow gave him a passive nod and withdrew a Pokéball from his belt. Toby mimicked the action.

"AAAAAAANNND! BEGIN!" Pokéstalker screamed causing Willow's eyebrow to twitch in frustration.

Toby swayed his body as if he was about to dance, causing the audience to look at him in strangely. "Grovyle! Win Toby battle!"

At the same time Willow tossed his Pokéball onto the field. As both devices made contact with the ground they exploded in a burst of white light.

On Willow's side stood an Electivire, it cracked its knuckles in anticipation.

On Toby's his Grovyle crouched down ready to pounce. It eyed his opponent with a predatory gaze.

Toby quickly sprang into action. "Grovyle! Leaf Blade!"

Willow smirked. "Volte, ThunderPunch."

The large Yellow and black striped being brought back its fist and flung it forward just as Toby's Grovyle threw its bladed arms to strike.

The two attacks caught each other and for a few moments both Pokémon struggled to push the other back.

"Volte, use your other arm." Willow commanded.

Toby's eyes widened in horror, "Grovyle! Back! Back!"

It was too late Volte had already slammed his free arm into the green reptile, throwing it like a ragdoll across the arena. Volte stood up proudly and laughed.

"Grovyle! Get up! We still win!" Toby called to his downed Pokemon.

The Grovyle grunted and dragged itself to its feet. It gave a determined nod to its trainer before turning back to its laughing opponent.

* * *

><p>"Wow…" Leaf commented seeing Willow's Electivire smash the Grovyle across the arena. "Willow's tough…"<p>

Rylte danced happily. _'Let's have some fun this beat is sick I wanna party on my moon base this afternoon! Don't stop make it rock, the party don't stop NOOOOES!'_

Riley nodded ignoring the Riolu's strange behaviour. "Willow's always been a tough trainer, even back when I first met him four years ago, he gave me quite a battle."

Mallori chuckled. "Of course Willow's good! He taught me and Jean a lot!" She announced proudly. "He's the best trainer I've ever met!"

Jean raised an eyebrow. "Of course you'd say that, you're completely in love with him."

"I DO NOT!" Mallori blushed slightly and glared daggers at her companion. "We've discussed this Jean… remember what happened **the last time**?"

Jean's face paled and turned back to the battle. This strange behaviour caught Leaf and Riley's attention.

* * *

><p>"Grovyle! Brick Break!" Toby cheered.<p>

Willow clicked his fingers. "Use your Brick Break to counter."

The two Pokémon clashed, swinging their arms fiercely. The two jumped back, then back at each other again. The air clanged, as the attacks continued to meet, like the swords of fencers.

Eventually the injured Grovyle faltered, and seeing his opportunity Volte slammed his opponent back once more.

Willow smirked. "Finish it! Thunderbolt!"

The Thunder Pokémon released an enormous discharge of electric energy at the Grovyle, it shrieked in pain as the electricity coursed through its body. Volte stopped his attack, and the Grovyle toppled to the ground with a thump.

"BATTLE OVEEEEEEERRRRRR!" Pokéstalker screamed. "WHAT AN IMPRESSSIVE FIGHT!"

Willow grit his teeth in frustration. "SHUT UP! We can all hear you! You've got a microphone so you don't _need_ to yell. Why do you think you were given one? To make you look cool?" Willow folded his arms and grunted. "Moron."

Pokéstalker flinched and hung his head in shame. "SOOOOOORRY!" He screamed.

Willow facepalmed. _'Why is everyone I meet an idiot?'_

Willow turned to face Toby who was crouched over his injured Grovyle. "Hey, Toby."

Toby looked up at Willow.

"Good fight; you're definitely Riley's cousin."

Toby gave a wide grin and made to exit through his gate.

* * *

><p>"Well, Willow won…" Leaf muttered, disappointed that her companion had been defeated.<p>

Mallori smiled to her. "Oh relax, it's just for fun, it's not like we're fighting several legendary Pokémon all under the control of criminal organisations trying to kill us…"

Leaf gave Mallori a look of shock and surprise. "I guess…" She really didn't know how to reply to a comment like that.

Jean rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we totally did that…" He gave a subtle wink to Rylte.

* * *

><p>As Willow wandered down his corridor he noticed some movement in his peripheral vision. He snapped around quickly with a Pokéball in hand, his other hand gripped his Aura Pistol. Willow scanned the area for a few moments before deciding he had just imagined it.<p>

Willow glanced down at his weapon, which he had concealed in his jacket. The 'Aura Pistol', as Willow called it, was a weapon he had come across in Snowpoint City. The Device resembled a revolver except with a broader barrel. The weapon couldn't kill, but was effective in knocking out, both People and Pokémon alike. Willow couldn't help but chuckle at his luck at finding such a rare artifact; the weapon was, without a doubt made by the Aura Guardians at the zenith of their power. Sadly such devices had been lost to history, along with the fabled Order of Guardians who had once protected the land.

Willow sighed and continued to wander back to the stands, unaware of the spectral figure gazing after him.


	3. Blathers and Mudkipz

"OOOOKAAAAY! LET'S KEEP IT UP!" Pokéstalker was still screaming away into his microphone, "NEXT UP, WE HAVE…. LEAF… AAAAND… IKE! COME ON DOWN!"

"Alright!" Leaf clasped her Blastoise's Pokéball confidently and quickly hurried over to the entrance to the battlefield. Once there, she waited eagerly for a glimpse of her opponent.

A few seconds later, a green haired boy of around twelve stood before her, ready for battle.

"Whaaat?" Leaf was incredulous, "You're not a hot swordsman!"

"Uh… what d'ya mean?" the kid was clearly confused.

"CHOOSE YOUR POKÉMON ALREADY!" Pokéstalker shrieked, "WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"

"Yeah, yeah! Just take it easy with the microphone already!" Leaf covered her ears.

"Go Charmeleon!" Ike cried.

'This will be easy for Vegeta,' Leaf thought to herself as she clutched his Pokéball and prepared to toss it, "Go Vege-!"

But before she could finish that sentence or toss the Pokéball, one of the Pokéballs in her bag suddenly snapped open, revealing her Chatot, Blathers!

Blathers flew about dramatically before landing upon the ground in a heroic pose, "Kept ya waiting, huh?" he asked in a low and gravelly voice.

"Blathers!" Leaf exclaimed, "What are you doing? Get back in the Pokéball!"

* * *

><p>Up in the crowd, Rylte snickered, <em>'He forgot his cardboard box!'<em>

Knuckles gaped. First, he gets passed over by Vegeta, and now this! What the heck?

"Leaf pick Blathers?" Toby looked surprised, "Why?"

"I don't think she intended to…" Riley looked sympathetic, "But I don't think she can take it back now…"

"She's a goner," Willow said bluntly.

* * *

><p>"What is this?" Blathers looked around frantically, "Where are all my fangirls?"<p>

"Oh, please! Only in your wildest dreams, Blathers!" Leaf snapped, "Now get back in your Pokéball!"

"AND LEAF CHOOSES CHATOT! WHAT A WONDERFUL CHOICE!" Pokéstalker screamed.

"No! NO!" Leaf cried frantically and kept trying to recall Blathers, "I take it back! I take it back!"

Blathers laughed manically and dodged every light beam his Pokéball cast at him, "Muahahaha! My power is_ far_ too vast to be contained by a mere Pokéball!"

"Sorry~!" the Pokéstalker sang, "No take backsies!"

"But you didn't call it!" Leaf protested.

"Uh…" Ike looked confused. Was this battle ever going to happen? "Well… uh… Okay, Charmeleon… Why don't you use Flamethrower now?"

"FOOL!" Blathers screamed, "Have you no Saiyan pride? How _dare _you attack a bird while his back is turned!"

Leaf groaned, "Fine! If I'm going to choose you, Blathers, then you'd better be prepared to fight! Use Featherdance and give it everything you've got!"

"One featherless Chatot coming up!" Blathers sang out. He beat his wings fiercely and Charmeleon became covered in a small mountain of feathers.

"Shake it off, buddy! Use your Flamethrower again!" Ike called out. When Charmeleon unleashed his attack, many of the feathers covering him burned away, but Blathers easily dodged the attack.

"You're too slow! You're too slow! You're tooooo slooow!" Blathers began to moonwalk in place and wink at Charmeleon.

"Quit pushing your luck and use Uproar!" Leaf ordered.

"LOOK AT ME! I'M THE POKESTALKER, AND I HAVE A FANCY, NEW MICROPHONE!" Blathers shrieked.

"Hey!" Pokéstalker cried out indignantly.

"Hang in there, Charmeleon and use Slash!" Ike cried. Charmeleon ran up to Blathers and sliced him with his claws.

"You slashed my experience points in half! And it's been my lifelong dream to become a level one hundred Pokémon! You cruel monster! You've crushed my American dream!" Blathers sobbed.

"Oh, quit your crying!" Leaf frowned, "That's not even true! Just get your head back into the battle and use your Fly attack!"

"As you desire, master," Blathers replied grandly and flew up into the sky.

"Watch out, Charmeleon!" Ike cried.

But when Blathers came soaring back down, the blow was too much for the flaming chameleon, and he fainted.

"Flawless victory!" Blathers declared and proudly rested his tiny foot upon Charmeleon's tail as if he had just conquered a ferocious beast.

"What? It wasn't flawless… You got hit by Charmeleon's Slash attack…" Ike pointed out.

"Let him dream…" Leaf shrugged.

"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, FOLKS! LEAF WINS! NOW! ONTO THE NEXT BATTLE!"

* * *

><p>"Good job, Leaf," Riley said with a smile once Leaf returned.<p>

"Just face it, Riley: I'm doomed…" Leaf moaned and leaned against the banister, burying her face in her hands, "I was just lucky that time…"

"Don't worry about it. You'll do fine with Blathers, I'm sure of it," Riley nodded and patted her arm.

Meanwhile, Rylte was sipping casually on a soda, and Blathers stared at him in awe.

"Hmm… Interesting… This Riolu has the ability Pickup!" Blathers declared in a voice sounding eerily similar to Professor Oak.

"Whoa! He does?" Jean looked at Willow with surprise.

"No!" Willow scowled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Guildmaster!" Blathers bowed impressively before Rylte.

'…_Guildmaster!' _Rylte's eyes widened in understanding,_ 'Oh! Em! Gee! The prophecy has come true! The unicorns _**will **_live peacefully among the leprechauns!'_

And the two Pokémon then proceeded to dance and cheer appropriately. Knuckles looked on in disbelief.

* * *

><p>The battle taking place ended and the Pokéstalker announced the next trainers<p>

"NEEEEXT UP!… RILEY AND JERN!"

"It's Jean!" Jean cried out angrily as he made his way into the arena.

"But Jean's a girl's name…" Muttered Pokéstalker.

Jean ignored him and narrowed his eyes on Riley "Well, I get to beat Willow's mentor, what a great day for me…"

Riley smiled at the blond haired boy as he removed Rukario's Pokéball from his belt. "I can assure you, I'm stronger than I look."

"Yeah? Well, let's see ya beat my strongest Pokémon." Jean spun his Pokéball on his finger before clumsily dropping it. He quickly bent down to pick it up. "Err… I meant to do that…"

In the stands Willow facepalmed.

"BEGINNNNNNN!" Pokéstalker Screamed.

"GO! MUDKIPZ!" Jean screamed as he violently flung his Pokéball into the arena. Instead of the small blue figure of a Mudkip appearing, it was a very large and muscular figure of its evolved form.

"SWAMPERT!" It roared and crouched down.

Riley frowned realizing he was at a disadvantage and released his Lucario.

On appearing the Lucario stared down the Swampert, before smirking.

* * *

><p>"So… Willow who do you think will win here? Jean has the type advantage." Leaf asked.<p>

"Riley will win." Willow stated like it was obvious.

Leaf was taken aback. "How can you be so sure?"

"Jean's far too reckless with his attacks. He doesn't think; he just tries to overpower everything. His Swampert is strong but… that's about it."

Mallori groaned. "It's true, I beat him with my Skitty once."

* * *

><p>Jean chuckled "I've got this in the bag! Mudkipz, give him a MUDSHOT!"<p>

Mudkipz mimicked his master's enthusiasm and released a torrent of mud from its mouth directly at Rukario.

"Dodge, and Aura Sphere." Riley calmly ordered.

The Swampert was unable to dodge the attack and took it directly. The Mudfish Pokémon barely flinched.

"Don't just sit and take that!" Jean roared. "Keep shooting! Hydro Pump!"

* * *

><p>Leaf frowned. "You know… he kinda reminds me of some guy I met in Sinnoh."<p>

Mallori raised an eyebrow "Who, Jean? Trust me, he's one of a kind."

Leaf returned her attention back to the battle and smiled. "So is Riley."

* * *

><p>Jean was red with anger. Riley's Lucario kept dodging his attacks. <em>'What would Willow do if he was here…?'<em> Jean slipped into a daydream where Willow was strangling him for accidentally hitting him with a stray Hydro Pump.

Jean clicked his fingers. "That's it! Willow you're a genius!"

In the stands Willow raised an eyebrow.

"Mudkipz! Get up close! Try and grab him!" Jean commanded.

Riley looked confused at such a change in tactics. "Rukario! Get ready!"

The Swampert stomped across the field its arms stretched wide to grab the Lucario. As it brought its hands down Riley reacted.

"Rukario! Close Combat!"

Jean facepalmed. "Oh crud…"

With no protection from its arms, the Swampert was struck repeatedly in its vulnerable chest area and was knocked to the ground.

"Come on Mudkipz! One last push! We can win!"

Despite the harsh beating the Swampert had taken it dragged itself to its feet and snarled. A blue aura formed around its body.

Jean cackled. "Aww sweet! Its Torrent, water attacks get stronger! Mudkipz! HYDROOOO CANNON!"

Riley seemed shocked that his opponent knew such a powerful move and sighed. "Rukario, Detect."

Jean registered the command in his head. "NO! Mudkipz stop!"

It was too late; the Swampert had already released its most powerful attack. A spark flashed in front of Rukario, and he vanished just before the attack hit and reappeared a small distance away from the attack's radius.

Jean's Swampert ended its attack, its blue aura faded and it panted heavily. Rukario calmly strode across the field and slugged the Swampert in the face without any orders. The Swampert swayed slightly before collapsing unconscious. Jean's eye twitched in frustration, it looked like he was about to start screaming. But he paused and took a deep breath, calming himself. He looked up at Riley and grinned.

"You really are tough! I can see why Willow got so good training under you."

Riley gave Jean a respectful nod and returned Rukario before walking back down his exit of the arena. As he walked down he saw a flicker of blue in the shadows. Riley closed his eyes and scanned for a life sign.

There was nothing.

Riley opened his eyes and frowned. He was sure he had seen something. After a few moments Riley let out a sigh and continued to walk back to the stands.


End file.
